http://forumseventdesign.com/ en alipena@forumsinc.com Copyright 2012 2012-10-30T15:33:22+00:00 http://www.forumseventdesign.com/blog/when_less_means_more/ http://www.forumseventdesign.com/blog/when_less_means_more/#When:02:41:38Z We reviewed our production calendar this morning. At the end of the month, we’ll have closed on more than 100 events. Our team is hungry and motivated for more. We’re driven by more. More dates on the calendar, higher guest counts, budgets with lots of zeros on them. I’m proud of our team for this relentless energy. But what I’m most proud of is what we can do when we’re challenged to work with less. We recently hosted a Carnival party at a local park for the kids at the Children’s Home Society of South Florida, an organization that provides social services for children who’ve been abused, neglected or abandoned. Though they weren’t a Fortune 500 client, the process was the same: create a great concept and pore over every logistical detail until you create an experience that wows your audience. Hanging colorful fabrics from ropes suspended in trees, we designed a row of midway booths where the kids could play games like “Fish Out Of Water”, “Ring Around The Giraffe”, and “Crazy Chicken”. A menu of mini sandwiches, chips and cupcakes had them running around. At the end of the party, they got to exchange raffle tickets for candy and small prizes. Our team worked hard to make the party unforgettable—staying late to cut out fish from construction paper and paint colorful signs on cardboard, taking lunch breaks at Party City, even spending a Friday night up to our elbows in peanut butter and jelly. We gave the most of ourselves. And that’s a much more satisfying feeling than 100 successful events can bring. 2009-07-06T02:41:38+00:00 http://www.forumseventdesign.com/blog/monster_of_a_detail/ http://www.forumseventdesign.com/blog/monster_of_a_detail/#When:02:49:15Z Had a smoothie at Panera Bread. They use Monster Straws. Great example of a small detail that makes a big impact. I enjoy a thick smoothie. The Monster Straw Company makes their straws extra wide so people who enjoy thick smoothies won’t have to, in their own words, deal with “sore cheeks and exploding lungs”. The fact that Panera Bread even pays attention to the way I experience straw drinking makes me feel valued and thought of. As event producers, how many small details like these do we let go unnoticed? Reminds me of an annual conference that we plan for one of our clients. On an otherwise flawlessly executed event, the registration process was our kryptonite. Our client requires us to pre-print the attendee badges, instead of setting up a registration system that will allow us to print them onsite. Year after year, we were confronted by long lines of impatient attendees who were in a hurry to get into the ballroom. Rushing to get everyone registered quickly, our staff had to jump over each other to get to the badges, which were kept in alphabetized card boxes and would often wind up scrambled and out of order. Determined to make the registration process go smoothly, one of our staff proposed an idea. What if, instead of placing the badges in boxes, we place them in plastic sleeves in binders? That way, the names will be easier to find and we won’t have to worry about looking for badges that were put into the wrong boxes. That one small detail changed everything. The wait time on the registration lines were reduced significantly and the whole process went more efficiently. We even had an attendee notice what a great idea it was and say that he’d never seen anything like it. It’s worth it to spend time thinking about all the details, whether monstrous or small. 2009-07-07T02:49:15+00:00 http://www.forumseventdesign.com/blog/a_new_chapter/ http://www.forumseventdesign.com/blog/a_new_chapter/#When:02:54:45Z Maty Hernandez, one of our founding partners, has left Forums Event Design & Production. For personal reasons, she recently spent time in Puerto Rico and has decided to make it a permanent home. It’s been a pleasure to work side by side with Maty over the past 9 years. Her contributions to the company are invaluable. She’ll be greatly missed. We wish Maty the best of luck in this new chapter of her life. 2009-07-08T02:54:45+00:00 http://www.forumseventdesign.com/blog/forget_lowered_expectations/ http://www.forumseventdesign.com/blog/forget_lowered_expectations/#When:20:59:40Z Forums Event Design & Production was featured in Smart Meetings Magazine, offering advice on how to plan an event on a budget and make it look like you didn’t. To read the full article, click here: http://smartmeetings.com/issues/september-2008/articles/forget-lowered-expectations 2009-07-21T20:59:40+00:00 http://www.forumseventdesign.com/blog/a_twist_on_an_old_favorite/ http://www.forumseventdesign.com/blog/a_twist_on_an_old_favorite/#When:19:41:41Z I was shopping at Whole Foods last Saturday, wondering what to serve at a cocktail party I was hosting at home later that evening. I arrived at the cheese department and was greeted by a man handing out cheese samples. “Have you ever had cheese with beer?” he asked as he served me a slice of spicy cheddar with a golden ale. I was surprised by how great the combination was- the carbonation of the beer brought out the flavors and thick texture of the cheese. A light bulb went off in my head. What if, instead of the usual wine and cheese, I went with beer? What a great idea for a cocktail reception! Next time you need to network with your customers, consider this twist on an old favorite. Serve a selection of hard, soft and blue cheeses and beer in ice-cold branded mugs. Pass out assorted hors d’oeuvres and ask the caterer to set up some food stations- artisanal sausages, gourmet pretzels, chocolates, even cigars. Move the event out of the ballroom by hosting it at a local pub or microbrewery. Or contact us, and we’ll take care of all the details for you. 2009-09-30T19:41:41+00:00 http://www.forumseventdesign.com/blog/forums_event_design_production_on_forbescom/ http://www.forumseventdesign.com/blog/forums_event_design_production_on_forbescom/#When:20:55:17Z Every executive has a travel horror story to share. Our Founder and President, Alex Pena, tells Forbes.com about how lost luggage on a flight to Mexico City threw her entire business trip off. Click here to read the full article: http://www.forbes.com/2009/10/09/business-travel-airport-forbes-woman-time-delays.html 2009-10-12T20:55:17+00:00 http://www.forumseventdesign.com/blog/the_ins_and_outs_of_corporate_events/ http://www.forumseventdesign.com/blog/the_ins_and_outs_of_corporate_events/#When:14:47:45Z Ali Pena speaks with entrepreneur blogger Wayne Liew about the ins and outs of corporate events as well as some tips for holding an event for your business. Read the full interview here: http://bit.ly/3nM7lu 2009-11-06T14:47:45+00:00 http://www.forumseventdesign.com/blog/leaving_the_four_walls_behind/ http://www.forumseventdesign.com/blog/leaving_the_four_walls_behind/#When:14:23:36Z Forums Event Design & Production was highlighted in Connect Your Meetings magazine, offering insight on making the most of outdoor team-building activities. To read the full article, click here: http://connectyourmeetings.com/2009/12/04/outdoor-education/ 2009-12-07T14:23:36+00:00 http://www.forumseventdesign.com/blog/forums_in_small_business_week/ http://www.forumseventdesign.com/blog/forums_in_small_business_week/#When:21:47:17Z Forums was recently featured in Small Business Week magazine, weighing in on the impact of the current credit crisis on small business owners. Click here to read the full article: http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/09_72/s0912030511552.htm 2009-12-16T21:47:17+00:00 http://www.forumseventdesign.com/blog/honoring_brave_women/ http://www.forumseventdesign.com/blog/honoring_brave_women/#When:14:30:24Z Over the weekend, the team at Forums had the opportunity to participate in the Susan G. Komen Race For The Cure. It was our honor to be a part of an event that celebrated the brave women who have fought breast cancer- both those who have beat the disease and those who have lost the battle. We celebrate them. Interested in doing your part? Visit http://ww5.komen.org/default.aspx to learn what you can do to help. 2010-10-18T14:30:24+00:00